


There for you

by morganasdagger



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cute, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganasdagger/pseuds/morganasdagger
Summary: Arthur wakes up and starts going on at Merlin, but he soon realises that Merlin seems upset. He goes about his duties, but he can't think about anything else except Merlin, and how upset he seemed. Ends in a cute little scene between the two where Arthur comforts Merlin, and they have a moment :)
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 87





	There for you

**Author's Note:**

> Notes at the end

It was 9am on a chilly Wednesday morning. Arthur opened his eyes groggily to the sound of his servant, Merlin, knocking over an ornate vase.  
“Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed, “What is the matter with you!”  
“Sorry sire,” Merlin mumbled, hastily bending down to pick up the shattered shards of porcelain strewn about on the floor. “It won’t happen again,” he added, hiding his face from Arthur’s.  
“Well I don’t believe that for a second,” Arthur replied, propping himself up on a silk pillow. “What time is it?”  
“Just after nine I think,” Merlin responded, now sweeping up the remnants of the porcelain.   
“JUST AFTER NINE?” Arthur shouted, furiously climbing out of bed and pulling on his trousers the wrong way round. “Were you not made aware that I was due in the council chambers two hours ago? Oh, of course you were, I reminded you three times yesterday! As King of Camelot, I have places to be, and unlike you, I can’t just sit around doing nothing all day!”  
“Sorry again, sire,” Merlin whispered, avoiding Arthur’s gaze.  
“Oh, is that all you have to say? Is it? Oh for god’s sake Merlin, look at me!”  
Merlin turned reluctantly towards Arthur, and the young King was surprised to see the serving boy’s face blotchier than usual, and his eyes welling up.  
“Oh great, so now I’ve upset you.”  
Arthur looked at Merlin for a second, and then walked over to the dresser to find his comb, and started brushing out his light hair. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Merlin still standing there, staring at him rather desperately. Arthur felt a pang of guilt, and walked over to the boy.  
“Merlin, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”  
The young boy sniffed and wiped his eyes with his grimy sleeve, and proceeded to lay out Arthur’s clothes for the day on his bed. Getting the feeling that there was something more was going on with Merlin, Arthur slowly walked over to the boy, and gently lifted the clothes out of his arms.   
“What is it? You can tell me.” Arthur looked into Merlin’s sad eyes, and lifted his chin up.  
“Nothing, I’m fine,” Merlin replied, still trying to avert Arthur’s gaze. He jerked his head away and walked over to the fireplace, where he began rubbing two sticks together, perhaps more forcefully than usual. Arthur made towards him, determined that he was going to make the serving boy open up, when Sir Leon opened the door and turned to Arthur.   
“Sire, bad news. We have received reports that the griffon sighted near the Forest of Gedref is beginning to make its way over to Camelot. We must ready the army, so we can be prepared, should it strike at the city.”  
Arthur teared his gaze away from Merlin, who was still rubbing the two sticks together, even though a flame had ignited and died a long time ago, and turned to Leon.  
“Yes, ready the knights, and send riders to the outlying villages in case the griffon tries to strike there. Is that all, Leon?” Arthur said, glancing worriedly towards Merlin.  
“No actually, Sire. The Lady Morgana has apparently been spotted near Odin’s kingdom. We fear she has made an ally of Odin, and we need you to come at once to question a witness who claims he encountered her.”  
Seeing that he had no choice, Arthur teared his eyes away from the black-haired boy, giving a reluctant nod, and made to follow Leon out of his chambers. When he reached the door, he made sure that Leon was out of earshot, and turned to his manservant. “Merlin, just… don’t go anywhere. Wait in here until I’m back.”  
Merlin gave a slight nod, and turned his back on Arthur again, watching his fingers now start to peel the bark off the two sticks he was still holding. He listened to the sound of Arthur’s receding footsteps, listening to the sound that his thick leather boots made on the cold stone floor… clunk… clunk… clunk…

…

Arthur pushed open the heavy wooden doors to the council chambers and strode inside. He could not seem to rid himself of the image of Merlin’s puffy face and swollen eyes. Why was it bothering him this much? Of course he cared about the boy, but-   
“Sire?”  
The entire room was staring at him. It took Arthur a second to register where he was, and what he was doing here.  
“Sorry, I must’ve zoned out for a moment. Where is this witness?”  
“Over here sire.”  
Leon led him to the far end of the room, where a ragged looking farmer was waiting uncomfortably. There were several gashes in his dirt-encrusted tunic, which seemed to be from tree branches, given the number of fresh leaves in his hair. He was a rather short man, so the young King bent down to his eye level, and made sure that there was a kindly expression on his face.  
“Could you tell me what happened?” he asked gently.  
As the man recounted his story, Arthur began to feel his focus ebbing away. It was his duty to listen, to help, to resolve, he knew that… yet the image of Merlin’s blotchy face seemed to be burned in front of his eyes. He didn’t know why it was bothering him this much, all he knew was that he would do anything to see that toothy grin back on Merlin’s face. His thoughts strayed to Merlin, waiting upstairs in his chambers, alone and upset…  
“Sire?”  
Arthur pulled himself back to reality, and saw the farmer staring at him, looking slightly apprehensive. Had some of his thoughts shown in his face? He turned to Leon, and tried to remember some of what the farmer had said. “Leon, I want you, Gwaine, and Percival to ride out to this man’s village, and try to find as many traces of Morgana as you can. On a separate note, Elyan, I want you and a patrol to ride out to the forest of Gedref and keep tabs on the Griffon. Keep me updated. Oh, and make sure this man has a bed for the night” he finished, gesturing to the still uncomfortable looking farmer. Without another word, he swept out of the room and made his way upstairs, with increasing pace. He soon found himself at the door of his chambers, and he hesitated a moment before pushing open the door. When he did, he saw his manservant sitting cross legged at one of the chairs at his dining table, absent-mindedly pulling at a thread dangling from the sleeve of his red shirt. He was staring into the fireplace where a dying ember was residing, although he didn’t seem to really be seeing it.   
“Merlin?” Arthur was surprised to hear his voice softer than usual, and surprisingly gentle. “Tell me, what’s bothering you?” Arthur stared at Merlin for what can’t have been longer than ten seconds, but what felt like ten hours. When the boy didn’t respond, but merely continued to stare at the glowing splinters in the fireplace, Arthur sat himself down next to Merlin, letting out a heavy sigh. “Come on, out with it. What’s wrong?”   
Merlin waited another ten seconds before responding. How could he explain his problem to Arthur, when he couldn’t tell Arthur the truth about himself? About them? When he finally opened his mouth, he hesitated a moment before speaking. “It’s just… sometimes… I don’t really know how to explain it.” Merlin stared down at his feet, and let out a sad little resigned sigh. Arthur looked at him for a moment, before moving closer. “Just try” he replied, as he tried to stare into the boy’s eyes, which were desperately looking anywhere but at him.   
“I suppose… I just feel sometimes like everything is crushing me. There’s so much going on all the time, and I do everything I can to help, but nobody ever notices. But they can’t know, so how can they?” A moments pause. “Sorry, I know I’m not making much sense.”  
Arthur stared at him for a few seconds longer and felt a strange sort of feeling in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew it was Merlin that had caused it. He lifted his arm up and clapped it onto his manservant’s shoulder.   
“I do understand”.  
At these words, Merlin looked up at Arthur, and stared into his eyes. He had never felt such a strong connection with anyone than he did with Arthur in this moment. The firm hand grasping his shoulder, the caring blue eyes, gazing into his. The moment seemed to last for an eternity, and both of them knew that they never wanted it to end. More was said in that moment than had ever been said before, because that moment… that was the moment they both realised that they were in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is the first fanfic I've written and I don't really know what I'm doing, so constructive criticism is welcomed (just don't be mean) :)


End file.
